


i've been quiet for too long

by cheryltcpaz



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Bisexual Toni Topaz, Cheryl Blossom Needs a Hug, F/F, Lesbian Cheryl Blossom, Soft Cheryl Blossom, Soft Toni Topaz
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-07
Updated: 2019-05-28
Packaged: 2019-06-23 13:18:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 7,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15607137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cheryltcpaz/pseuds/cheryltcpaz
Summary: cheryl blossom is reaching out for someone, anyone to see her. toni topaz just happens to be the one lookingaka how i see the story of cheryl and toni





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hi! i basically have no idea how to write fanfics but i read a lot of them and choni ones seem to be my favorite. i saw someone do something like this with bughead after season 1 came out so i thought i could do it with choni during the break.  
> i hope you enjoy <3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi! i basically have no idea how to write fanfics but i read a lot of them and choni ones seem to be my favorite. i saw someone do something like this with bughead after season 1 came out so i thought i could do it with choni during the break.  
> i hope you enjoy <3

she was beautiful. there was no denying that, as much as toni may have wanted to. and she really wanted to. ever since toni first saw her at the drag race. she was there with the other northsiders that toni didn’t know, only recognizing betty.

she definitely stood out, that was for sure. she was practically laying on top of that truck, all decked out looking like the american flag. her shorts and lips were a perfect match of cherry red and her round sunglasses sat on her face like they were made just for her.

jughead and that ghoulie shook hands and toni began making her way over to the middle of the two cars, ready to flag them off. that’s when she saw the stunning redhead coming towards her.

“uh, i usually do the honours.” toni said with about as much confidence as she could muster at that moment and hoping that her checking the taller girl out wasn’t noticeable.

“not today, cha-cha,” she replied, with at least 10 times more confidence than toni, “i was born for this moment.”

 _Well, that’s the end of that then, I guess._  toni thought, walking away from the cars and back towards the other serpents.

she watched as the girl said "engines warm and ready, gentlemen?" which earned the response of some revving from both parties, clearly trying to intimidate each other. 

with that, the girl began to raise her arms before leaning backwards, signaling the start of the race. 

the two cars rushed past her as she spun on one heel to watch them drive away. 

 _well well well_ toni thought  _born for that moment she was_


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi again! wow i was definitely not expecting to get almost 400 hits and 17 kudos overnight. that was a massive shock.  
> anyways, this chapter is much longer than the first and we get to see the perspective of both Cheryl and Toni. enjoy!

_“effective immediately, southside high school is shut down.”_

those words made cheryl want to cry, scream, and spontaneously combust all at once. she was in the girl’s locker room when the news broke, trying her hardest not to have a mental breakdown. she thought she would manage to fight it off. that was until midge decided to check on her.

 

“cheryl?” midge said, calmly yet somewhat nervously, since approaching cheryl in this manner was practically unheard of.

 

“hell no!” cheryl erupted, “my home life is a dickensian nightmare. i  _won’t_ have school turn into one, too!”

 

she could feel tears begin to sting in her eyes. _i c_ _annot let them see me cry, not today._ with this thought, she grabbed her bag and exited the locker room as fast as she possibly could.

 

she soon realized that moving into the packed hallway probably wasn’t the best idea, even more people could see her cry there. _t_ _he bathroom,_ she thought, _that should be fairly empty._ feeling tears beginning to form more prominently now, she sort of jogged to the nearest bathroom and, once inside, sprinted into an unoccupied stall.

 

 _i won’t_ _have school turned into one, too!_

 

this thought played around in her head for a while until she came to a realization. _if_ _anyone in this godforsaken town can knock some southside scum down a few pegs, it’s me._ so that was her plan. she just needed some help and was sure to find  _many_ without even trying. they were _s_ _outhside scum_ after all.

 

\----------------------

 

toni was sitting on the steps to the entrance of southside high when she first heard of its demise. jughead was showing her something he’d written over the christmas break.

 

“wow, jones, props to you. it’s very lovecraftian. which I’m sure was the intention. but, I’ve got to ask you, did you write this on a typewriter?” even if you couldn’t see her, you would practically be able to hear the smirk she had plastered on her face right now. toni knew about the gift jughead had received from his current ex-girlfriend so thought now would be the  _perfect_ time to tease him about it.

 

“yeah, i wanted to get into lovecraft’s headspace.” he struggled to say every word of that simple little sentence. it was an obvious lie. 

 

“hh, so, it wasn’t like betty bought you a manual typewriter for christmas or anything weird like that?” her voice got higher and higher until it sounded like she was squeaking.

 

she knew that she hit the nail right on the head when jughead snatched the paper away from her and refused to make eye contact.

 

“no comment.” he said as quickly as he could without interrupting toni.

 

then all that could be heard was sweet pea and fangs kicking the front doors open while shouting and laughing for some unknown reason. she couldn’t help but smile looking at the two buffoons that she calls her best friends. but the smile soon left her face.

 

“what’s going on?” jughead asked the boys.

 

 “this hellhole’s officially closed.” sweet pea answered more calmly than she expected, “we’re done. no more southside high”

 

 “what? how?” the calmness of her friends was definitely not rubbing off on toni since she almost shouted this.

 

“they say it’s dangerous. it’s gonna be quarantined.” sweet pea replied, somehow managing to sound even more calm, “who cares? we’re all going to different schools.”

 

 _how are they all managing to stay so calm?!_ toni asked herself, trying not to have an existential crisis. _a_ _nd wait did sweets say we’re **all**_   _going to different schools? they better not separate us I swear to god-_

her thoughts were interrupted by Jughead saying “this doesn’t make sense. where are you guys going?”

 

“same as you,” sweet pea nods towards jughead, “and you,” he then nods towards toni, “and fangs.” he hits fangs on the chest as he says his name and fangs slaps sweet pea on the back as a response.

 

toni released a breath she didn’t even realize she was holding. _o_ _h, thank **god**! at least we’re all going to the same school._

 

“we’re going to riverdale high.”

 

_shit._

 

\----------------------

 

 

walking into riverdale high the next day felt weird. everyone was staring at them like they were animals in a zoo. the serpents are being led by jughead, which is probably a good idea considering he’s the only student from southside high that actually knows any of these northsiders on a personal level.

 

they walk towards this table that has been set up in the hallway and are greeted by three students toni recognizes. she knows that the ginger boy’s name is archie from the serpent vs. ghoulie drag race a while ago, but can’t remember the other two’s names for the life of her. she knows the girl is rich just by looking at her and feels like she should know her name from somewhere. the guy on the left she recognizes as the kid who went out with joaquin before he went to san junipero.

 

“friends!” the girl from behind the table says, clearly not meaning it at all, “on behalf of the students and faculty here at riverdale high, welcome to your new school.” she looks directly at toni as she says this and smiles, but it doesn’t meet her eyes. “to ease this transition, we’ve set up a registration desk where you can get your locker assignments, class schedules and a list of sports and extracurriculars.” toni and jughead look down at what the girl was pointing at, before looking back up when the girl continues, “we encourage each and every one of you to drink  _deeply_ from the cup that is fair riverdale.”

 

toni has to fight back a scoff when the girl ended her clearly scripted monologue.  _‘fair riverdale’? please! riverdale has only ever been fair to these privileged northsiders who couldn’t care less about the southside._

 

toni’s thoughts are interrupted, yet again, by a voice coming from the stairs ahead of her.

 

“stand down, eva peron.” the voice said. that’s when toni looked up at the stairs, only to see the beautiful girl from the drag race and an army of northsiders behind her. they were walking down the stairs in what seemed to be slow motion. just seeing her made toni scowl, but she didn’t know exactly why.

 

“there’s the school spirit i so fondly remember!” jughead said as sarcastic as always.

 

the red-haired girl continued walking towards the ‘registration desk’.

 

“cheryl,” started the welcoming girl, -- _so_ that’s  _her name._ toni couldn’t stop herself from thinking-- “no one invited fascist barbie to the party.”

 

 _well, this is getting interesting._ toni thought.

 

“wrong, veronica.” cheryl replied nonchalantly -- _of course! it’s that lodge girl from nyc whose dad just came back from prison!_ toni knew she recognized her-- “no one invited southside scum to our school.”

 

 _it was only a matter of time,_ toni thought,  _it wasn’t all gonna be sunshine and rainbows now we’re on the northside._

 

the redhead continued, “listen up ragamuffins. i will not let riverdale high’s above average gpa to suffer because of classrooms that are overcrowded with underachievers.” toni could feel her anger beginning to rise. “so, please, do us all a favour and find some other school to debase with your hardscrabble ways.”

 

toni had enough. “why don’t you come over here and say that to my face?” she uncrossed her arms and began to walk towards cheryl.

 

much to toni’s surprise, this seemed to be exactly the kind of reaction cheryl was looking for, as she also began to walk forward.

 

“ _happily_ ,” she said, looking toni up and down, “queen of the  _buskers_!”

 

toni was about to pounce when that archie kid got in between them and started to say some bullshit about putting our differences apart and starting over, but she could barely focus on the words he was saying.

then the guy who was standing with  _cheryl_ spoke and said something about the serpents going to archie’s house to “kick his ass”.

that’s when sweet pea, who had been surprisingly quiet, pushed forward saying “happy to finish what we started.” he looked like he was about to start a fight right there and then, but jughead grabbed he back before he could.

veronica spoke again, saying something about “toxic masculinity” before, who toni assumed was, principal weatherbee finally showed up and told them all to “get to class”.

 

_what a great first day at school!_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> told you it was a longer chapter. hope you all enjoyed <3


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> surprise bitch, i bet you'd thought you'd seen the last of me.

cheryl’s life seemed to be getting worse and worse.

 

her mother’s new “job” was horrible to even know about. so bad, in fact, that she literally blackmailed archie into paying a little visit to nick st. clair to get back the money which had met its end in the fireplace of thistlehouse, just so that her mother could stop. her mother, however, had other ideas and even seemed to be enjoying her job so much that she was going to continue, much to cheryl’s disgust.

 

and, of course, there were the southsiders who had crossed the tracks and were now attending riverdale high, the only place where cheryl felt safe and in control. _fucking perfect._ what really concerned her about the new students was not really the students at all. of course, they were a big problem, but they were nothing compared to cheryl’s personal issue with a certain pink-haired serpent. the girl who dared challenge cheryl on her  _first day_ at the school. the girl who cheryl had also encountered months before at that dumb southside drag race. the girl that made cheryl feel the way that her mother had always told her not to. but cheryl always pushed that to the back of her mind and found a way to distract herself from it.

 

her most recent problem, though, was that everything she had believed about her family’s past was untrue. she had always believed that her great-great-great-grandpappy, colonel barnabas b. blossom “had bankrolled general pickens’ settlement of an eden along the river of sweetwater, where maple trees grow taller than the steeples of europe’s grandest cathedrals,” which is why she wanted to change ‘pickens’ day’ to ‘colonel barnabas b. blossom day’. it turns out, however, that colonel blossom actually paid general pickens to slaughter the uktena tribe, consisting 400 innocent men, women and children and that’s how the blossoms got started in the maple syrup business. cheryl was ashamed of what her family had done.

 

 

pickens’ day was a few days later, and all of riverdale seemed to be in attendance, but significantly missing the serpents who were supposed to be working as security. cheryl was with her mother, despite wanting to be there with pretty much anyone else.

 

so far, the day had been quite boring, so when fred andrews went onto the stage to welcome everyone and introduce a performance, cheryl was more than happy that there would actually be some form of entertainment.

 

then fred announced that performing would be “a new twist on an old favourite”, veronica and the pussycats. _shit._ veronica, valerie and melody came up onto the stage and began their performance of ‘union of the snake’. cheryl couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty. she really pushed josie to go for a solo career and when valerie and melody found out, they were far from happy. if that never happened, then it would be likely that it would be josie singing up on the stage.

 

these thoughts soon exited cheryl's mind when she saw the southside serpents coming towards the stage, most of them holding signs with their mouths taped up. this was cheryl's chance to mentally make amends with the serpents for what her family did all those years ago.

 

cheryl forced her untouched candy apple into her mother's hands and began to follow the serpents. she made her way to the crowd that was gathered directly in front of the crowd and stood behind jughead and an old man who she didn’t recognise.

 

the music stopped when the serpents were lined up in front of the stage.

 

“toni? jughead? what the hell is going on?” a frustrated veronica asked, stepping away from the microphone. however, she was not answered directly, as toni began her speech into the megaphone she had bought along.

 

“we’re here representing the dead and the silenced!” she shouted, “pickens’ day is a lie! general pickens slaughtered the uktena tribe, my grandfathers family! and this land, the and that we’re standing on, that will soon give way to a new southside, was  _stolen_ from them!” cheryl began nodding as she knew that every word that was being spoken was true, and she hated that it was, “and we  _can't_ bring them back. but we  _can_ and we  _must_ honour them!”

 

that’s when hiram lodge went onto the stage and began speaking some bullshit that cheryl couldn’t even hear. she was too busy concentrating on the little pink-haired serpent had tears forming in her eyes.

 

 ----------------------

 

cheryl joining the protest didn’t go unnoticed by many. including the leader of the protest, toni. it had made toni wonder why she had joined the protest and publicly side with the serpents, something that had  _never_ happened before.

 

_maybe this girl isn’t so bad after all._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> that last bit is toni thinking btw.  
> next chapter is of 2x14 so cheryl and toni will finally have an actual conversation!  
> hope you all enjoyed, kudos are appreciated <3


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi there guys, gals and non-binary pals! (i stole that from thomas sanders don't @ me)  
> school is properly kicking my ass and i have a couple o health issues as well (funfunfun) which is why there hasn't been a chapter since august lol.  
> this isn't technically a whole chapter but i wasn't sure how to connect the choni things of 2x14 together so it ended up being 3 chapters instead.  
> anyways i hope yous enjoy the chapter hoes <3

“you’ve never known love, cheryl, except to rip it apart. because you are a  _jealous_ ,  _spite_ - _filled, emotional_ _anorexic._ ”

 

the fact that her mother could say them so easily without batting an eyelid always made cheryl feel uneasy. but then again, she can do the exact same thing to the innocent kids at school. she doesn’t necessarily want to do it, it just happens. probably because she’s wanted to say so much to her mother (and father, when he was still alive) but has been unable to, so she just takes it out on others.

 

the words that her mother spat at her rang through cheryl all morning. she went into school seeking a distraction, trying her hardest to find something,  _anything_ , to take her mind off of her witch of a mother and to make her feel, well, better. wanted. loved, even. just anything but what she was feeling right then.

 

then when cheryl overheard veronica saying something about a luxury weekend, she thought it would be perfect. but, of course, this didn’t work, since the trip was a “romantic, couples-only weekend”, she wouldn’t be allowed to come.

 

cheryl knew it was  _very_ wrong to do. jughead had done nothing wrong, and neither had betty to be fair, but she went ahead with it anyway, knowing it would cause chaos. so, she told jughead that betty and archie had kissed before christmas. she knew that her plan worked since she didn’t get a reply from jughead before she hung up.

 

her intent never was for someone else to hear the conversation, so when the little pink haired  _serpent_ walked out of one of the stalls behind her, panic set in. cheryl quickly hid it away before the smaller girl approached the sinks and began speaking.

 

“did you just tell jughead that archie and betty kissed?” she said.

 

“yes. so what if i did?”

 

“did you at least have a reason?”

 

“oh, that’s right. you’re new here. hi. i’m cheryl blossom, a.k.a. cheryl  _bombshell_ , which means i need no reasons. i simply  _am_. feel free to tremble.” cheryl knew as well as toni did that this was a load of bullshit, but it generally kept people away from her so she continued to say it whenever someone got in her business.

 

“i have a better idea,” --  _shit. no no no no no, she was meant to go away, why is she still here? everyone leaves after i say those things. shit._ \-- “why don’t you tell me what’s bothering you because  _clearly_ , you’re in a lot of pain.” toni reached her hand out and rested it on cheryl’s arm.  _well, i was_ not  _expecting that._

cheryl responded in the only way she knew how to. anger.

 

“get your  _sapphic_ serpent hands  _off_  my body!” she practically screamed, slapping toni’s arm away before exiting the bathroom in a fit of rage.

 

it didn’t even fully register that toni was trying to do something nice for cheryl,  _be_ nice to cheryl until she had left. she couldn’t even understand the concept of  _anyone_ being nice to her, except her dear late brother of course, and especially not a southside serpent.

 

people just aren’t nice to cheryl, and that’s how she lived her life.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you all enjoyed, kudos are appreciated <3


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey there people, i'm back!  
> i spent some time off of writing but thought i'd try again and here we are!  
> this is the longest chapter i've ever written, 1.2k words, which isn't very long but it's as much as i could get.  
> i did this instead of revising for some tests i have tomorrow so i hope everyone enjoys it!

to say cheryl was annoyed at herself would be a slight understatement. she didn’t exactly  _mean_ to shout at toni like that, it was just her default reaction to anyone, whether their intentions were innocent or otherwise.

 

she soon forced herself to forget about the conversation, though, when she saw yet another ‘client’ of her mother’s pulling up outside the house through her bedroom window before being greeted by her mother. she had bigger fish to fry.

 

she needed to face her demons head on, fight fire with fire, to beat her mother at her own game. which is why she put on that ridiculously skimpy outfit, that she had bought a few months ago for absolutely no one, and the highest heels she could find before heading down the thistlehouse stairs.

 

she heard her mother saying about fixing the man another gin before she appeared from behind the wall.

 

“now, now,” cheryl said, plastering on a brave face, “why settle for a jalopy when you could joyride a newer model?”

 

“well, well,” the man said with a smile on his face, “where have you been hiding?” the sentence itself made her want to gag, but she couldn’t let on.

 

penelope began to stand up, saying “she’s sixteen,” before adding “and my daughter.”, poison dripping off each word as if in disappointment. “cheryl that’s enough.”

 

the man, clearly creeped out by the silent stand-off happening between the two blossom women, stood before stuttering out “i- excuse me, i-“ and exiting the room, shuffling around cheryl to do so.

 

“that’s gonna cost us a pretty penny.” her mother said. of course, all she could think about was money right now.

 

cheryl began walking towards her. “i do know love mother,” she said, referencing their earlier conversation, “i may not be feeling it right now, but i have.” it was true, she truly loved heather with all of her heart before... _everything_ happened.

 

penelope chuckled lightly. “spare me,” she all but whispered, “the only kind of love you’ve experienced was perverse, warped and _deviant_.” she added, considerably louder. there was that word again. _deviant_. a word, cheryl thinks, that will be imprinted into her mind until the day she dies.

 

she could feel the tears begin to well up in her eyes, her vision going slightly fuzzy. “even if it was,” she forces out in a loud, shaky voice, “it was mine. but you couldn’t let me have it, could you? so you did everything in your power to destroy it. and now all i can do is pay you back in hate.” she ends, blinking back tears and turning on her heels to go back to her room.

 

she was _not_ staying in tonight.

 

 

\----------------------

 

 

“what do you _mean_ you can’t make it tonight?!” toni whisper-shouted into her phone, trying to be quiet since she was standing just outside the bijou with people walking past her every five seconds.

 

“ _i said i’m **sorry** tiny. something just came up..._” fangs said from the other end of the phone, sounding genuinely guilty.

 

“and what might that be, fangs? let me take a wild guess and say sweet pea?” she said, her voice laced with obvious sarcasm. the silence from her best friend made it obvious what the answer was. “i thought he was working tonight.”

 

she could hear him sigh loudly. “he was, but he managed to get the night off and his trailer is empty so-“

 

“okay! i’m gonna stop you there i do _not_ wanna hear about that. you just enjoy your night, okay? say hi to sweets for me.”

 

“thanks, tiny you’re the best! love you, bye!” he said, very rushed, before hanging up.

 

toni chuckled to herself. her boys have been dating for years now all in all, if she includes junior high where they were both denying their feelings for each other. as much as she wishes they would spend a bit more time with her as well, she appreciates that they take as much time as they can to spend with each other.

 

in a town like riverdale, especially on the southside, you have to learn to keep the things others may use against you to yourself, which is the main reason why only toni and some of the younger serpents know about their relationship. as much as they wish it didn’t have to be a secret, they know that, as gang members, it’s a good idea to keep your close ones in your heart or there’s a good chance they could be used as bait.

 

as much as she wanted to see ‘love, simon’ _with_ fangs, toni decided that she’d just see it without him instead. she walked into the bijou after getting her ticket and began making her way over to the concessions stand.

 

she was beyond shocked to see cheryl “get your sapphic serpent hands _off_ my body!” blossom standing there, waiting for her drink. she saw it as an opportunity to break the ice after their conversation earlier that day, so she walked towards her.

 

“let me guess, some cherry cola for cheryl bombshell.” is what she ultimately decided on saying.

 

cheryl turned her body to face the small serpent. “oh, my god. what do you want? and why do you keep stalking me?”

 

okay, that was not what toni expected. “i’m _not_. i came to see this movie with _fangs_ and he bailed on me.” this made cheryl look down, almost as if she _wanted_ toni to say she was stalking her. “are you okay?” toni asked tentatively.

 

cheryl briefly paused, like she didn’t know the answer to that question herself. “i’m alone at the movies,” she paused again, “and i’m trying to stay away from my mother who has turned our house into her sexual playpen.” she said in one breath, almost like she’d been desperate to tell _someone_ what was wrong. toni didn’t know how to respond, but luckily, cheryl continued, “so, no. i’m really not.”

 

toni wasn’t sure quite how to unpack _all_ of that, but she could at least help with one thing. “well i was gonna go grab a seat alone, unless you want some company, but no pressure.”

 

this made cheryl smile. _really_ smile. a smile that, honestly, toni has been waiting to see since first encountering her all those months ago at the drag race. she sipped through her straw before nodding to toni, a silent confirmation to her invitation before toni grabbed cheryl’s popcorn and they began walking towards the screening room.

 

they grabbed two seats near the middle and sat there in silence for a few moments before the film started.

 

there were a few times where they would both reach into the popcorn and brush hands, each time making eye contact before cheryl would duck her head down to hide her blush, making toni smile.

 

near the end of the film, when simon’s mother was talking to him about his childhood, toni looked to her right to see the girl next to her crying. she wondered why.

 

when the film was over, toni made a brave decision, prepared herself to get shut down, and asked cheryl if she wanted to get a milkshake a pop’s. cheryl surprised her, for the third time that night, and said _yes_. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> phew we getting somewhere  
> in case you didn’t know, the first part of this chapter was a deleted scene from 2x14. i’m gonna be adding in all the deleted choni scenes into this story as well as some made up ones so that the story makes more sense than the show.  
> the swangs idea came from my irl best friend who's youtube channel i'm gonna plug right here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHeGf1tD0gMKwD5eoZP0dlg go subscribe, she makes riverdale edits and funny videos that i help her with sometimes.  
> i also made some minor changes to previous chapters, which were more for my piece of mind honestly, as well as changing the title and summary to make it seem more proper ig  
> as always, thank you so much for reading and kudos are appreciated <3


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i kinda have inspiration to write this fic at the moment so that's cool  
> if there's any spelling or grammer mistakes it's 'cause i typed it on my phone instead of my computer  
> if you haven't realised i'm british yet with the way i spell things, you definitely will after this chapter. grammarly hates me  
> also kkatlionn i know you have this fic bookmarked (ty) so if you're reading this, please continue 6 days, we all miss it  
> happy 1 year and 3 days since 2x14 aired!  
> hope y'all enjoy this chapter

cheryl spent the entire drive to pops practically hyperventilating. she could hear more than see the motorcycle following behind her, toni onboard. when toni had asked her if she wanted to go to pops, cheryl was... shocked, to say the least. 

 

image was everything to her, being a blossom and all, so the thought of being seen at the most popular place in town with a member of the people she’d been actively shunning for the vast majority of her life worried her slightly. 

 

but here was the thing, toni wasn’t so bad. in fact, cheryl enjoyed her company. while they may not have spoken much, well, ever, cheryl found herself wanting to talk more. about anything and everything. and that scared her. she hasn’t wanted to open up to anyone in so long, the last time being veronica who has since proven that it may have been a bad idea to do so. so why would toni be any better?

 

despite her hesitations, though, she agreed to go to pops with toni. for better or for worse, she doesn’t know yet. 

 

she drives into the parking lot and pulls her impala into one of the only empty spaces while toni parks her motorcycle next to the others that are already there on the other side of the parking lot. 

 

cheryl exits her car after a very deep and shaky breath and makes her way over to the entrance to pops where toni is waiting for her.

 

“you ready, red?” toni asks with a small smirk on her face.

 

the nickname makes cheryl roll her eyes, but smile nonetheless. “come on.” she says before walking past the serpent girl and inside the diner. 

 

as expected, pops was packed. cheryl looked around for an empty booth but found none, the only empty seats being up on the counter. she looked around once more, but this time not looking for seats. this time she was looking for people, anyone who she recognised, just so she’d know how many people would be seeing her there with toni. on the far end of the diner were josie and kevin sitting with mayor mccoy and sheriff keller, a slightly odd mixture, but still friendly faces. on the other side was riverdale’s answer to the scoring gang in veronica, cousin betty, archie and jughead, who she wasn’t exactly pleased to see after they rejected her. 

 

not seeing anyone else she recognised, other than some other people from school, cheryl walked over to the seats she spotted earlier, toni still trailing behind her. 

 

she sat down, toni taking the seat next to her, before pop tate came over to welcome them, giving them a menu. since they were just there for a milkshake, however, cheryl stopped the sweet old man and ordered her regular strawberry milkshake, causing toni to rush her decision and just go with a standard chocolate before handing back the menu and thanking pop. 

 

they sat in an uncomfortable silence for a while until pop tate returned with their order. cheryl began stirring her milkshake idly with her straw before toni struck up the courage to say something. 

 

“you may think you’ve mastered the art of silent tears, but i saw you crying during that movie, cheryl.” there was a slight hesitancy in the way she said it, as if she was frightened of how cheryl may react. 

 

“i never cry at movies. real life’s tragic enough...” she started, seeing toni’s expression changing to a more concerned look upon hearing those words, “but, when simon’s mom said he used to be such a carefree kid growing up, and then at a certain point he stopped being that happy kid ‘cause he was hiding his secret, it just-“ she cut her self off and looked down to hide her tears, sensing some long pushed down emotions resurfacing. 

 

“cheryl.” toni said, softly letting cheryl know it was okay to continue. her concern was now even more obvious in the way she said her name. 

 

she stayed quiet for a few moments, wondering how much she could actually say before her biggest secret was revealed. she wondered if toni would go and tell everyone if she found out, wondered if it would be the talk of the town within _minutes_ , wondered if this would be the last straw for her. but she could see the look on toni’s face, how she looked more worried about cheryl than anyone had ever looked before, despite maybe her dear late brother. _fuck it_ , cheryl thought, _i’ve_ _started so_ i _might as well finish_. 

 

“everyone thinks i’m this loveless monster, but it isn’t true. i _loved_ someone, who _loved_ **_me_**. and my mother destroyed it.” the tears were coming strong now, her voice getting higher with the sheer amount of pain she feels. 

 

“you mean your brother jason? i heard how close you guys were.” toni interjects carefully. ah her dear brother, she loved him with all her heart, still does love him to this day, but that’s not today’s tragedy. 

 

“no, not jj.” she takes a deep breath, _there’s no going back after this_ cheryl, “h-her name was heather.” she looks over to toni, expecting to see judgement, but only seeing shock, quickly changed to realisation. “she was my _best_ friend at junior high. she used to sleep over _every_ weekend,” she smiles at the memory, “until one night, my mother caught us in the same bed. she said i was... _deviant_ ” the word made her shudder. 

 

“cheryl, i am _so_ sorry. but you have to know your mother’s wrong. you’re not loveless. you’re _not_ deviant, okay?” toni briefly pauses and takes cheryl’s hand in her own, causing cheryl to look up at her through misty eyes, “you’re _sensational._ ” 

 

they stare at each other for what would usually be an uncomfortable amount of time, but they feel that way. it feels _normal_. and neither of them want to look away. 

 

cheryl is the first though, wiping her tears away and mumbling out a quick “thank you” before finally taking a sip from her milkshake, bringing her left hand, the one that was previously being held by toni’s, up to hold the straw. it’s only once she stops drinking her milkshake again that toni starts talking. 

 

“cheryl can i... tell you something?” toni asked, somewhat apprehensively. cheryl nodded. “i’m bi. i’ve pretty much known since i was a kid and i’m always quite open about it when people ask, which doesn’t happen that much. when my family found out, it didn’t go too well, but the serpents took me in and became my chosen family. i just wanted to tell you ‘cause, as much as i might not have experienced everything you’ve been through, i understand what it’s like to have people reject you for _that_ reason.”

 

cheryl looked to her in shock that quickly changed to relief. _she understands,_ cheryl thinks, _she understands what it’s like_. knowing that toni also wasn’t straight was comforting to cheryl, it made her trust toni with her secret more now, since toni knew what it was like to be rejected because of it. 

 

“thank you for telling me, toni.” cheryl replied once she composed herself. 

 

“what was that?” toni said. cheryl was confused. _did i_ _say something wrong?_   “did **_the_** _cheryl blossom_ just call me by my actual name?! i am honoured!”

 

cheryl rolled her eyes and quietly chuckled. “shut up.”

 

“only if you say it again.” she said with a cheesy grin on her face. 

 

cheryl returned the grin. “fine... _toni._ ” 

 

“i’ll never get tired of hearing that, now.” she said with a loud, relaxed sigh. 

 

“you’re such a dork.”

 

\----------------------

 

they left the diner over an hour later, after ordering many more milkshakes and having many more conversations. this time, they walked next to each other, with huge smiles plastered on both of their faces

 

“let me walk you to your car.” toni had said upon exiting. 

 

cheryl walked towards her impala, toni still beside her the whole time. she came to a stop when she made it to the car before turning around to lean on the door.

 

“i had a really nice time tonight,” she said to the pink haired girl, a timid smile on her face, “and thank you... for everything.”

 

“it was no problem cheryl.” toni replied, smiling widely. she paused for a while contemplating whether to ask the question, “hey, can i ask you something?”

 

“sure.”

 

“can i, maybe, get your number?” she looked down to her feet. 

 

cheryl began smiling wider. “give me your phone.”

 

toni fumbles around her bag getting her phone out. she quickly unlocks it before handing it over to cheryl, who dials in her number and adds it to toni’s contacts. 

 

“text me later.” she says, handing toni’s phone back to her. 

 

“i will, trust me.” she replies, taking the phone and putting it back into her bag. 

 

cheryl opens her car door and is about to get in, before toni says one more thing.

 

“hey, cheryl. don’t forget what i said tonight, okay?”

 

“i won’t toni, trust me.”

 

\----------------------

 

[unknown]: hey cheryl, it’s toni. did you get home safe?

 

[cheryl]: hey toni. i got home okay, luckily mother was asleep so i don’t have to deal with her just yet. how about you?

 

[toni]: i got home fine bombshell, don’t worry about me. how are you feeling, after tonight?

 

[cheryl]: honestly? better than i have been in a while. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wanted to give them cutesy contact names but they've only known each other for like a day so maybe that'll come later  
> as always, thanks for reading <3


	7. Chapter 7

cheryl couldn’t stop smiling. something about her night with toni made her feel happy in a way that she hadn’t in a long time. it was weird, to say the least, she wasn’t used to feeling this way anymore. this worried her. 

 

this happiness was different to the happiness she would feel when jason was alive. no, this happiness was what she would feel when  _heather_   was still around, which scared her. she’d been pushing down these  _deviant_ and  _unnatural_ thoughts for so long, pretending they never existed to begin with and ignoring every time they dare to come up. but this time, this time they wouldn’t leave, and this was terrifying to cheryl.

 

she thought about it all weekend, hardly thinking about anything else, whether she was talking to toni or not. it was only when she left her room ready for school on the monday afterand she saw her mother sitting with a stranger, looking over some papers. 

 

she walked into the room, her presence being made known by the heels of her boots making a loud noise with every step she made. “mother. strange man i’ve never met.” she said, looking him up and down. 

 

“cheryl, this is mr lazenby, our estate attorney. your father, as it turns out, left a secret will.” penelope told her. 

 

cheryl scoffed and rolled her eyes, “of course he did. but, daddy died months ago.” it had been a long time since that day the scooby-gang found the tape of jason being murdered. cheryl tried to block that day out of her memory. 

 

“mr blossom’s instructions were to reveal the existence only after the authorities had concluded their investigation into his side business.”  _mr lazenby_ explained.

 

“you mean drug dealing?” cheryl asked, already knowing the answer, “does this mean we’re gonna be rich again?” she asked, this time with a smile on her face and looking to her mother. 

 

“oh cheryl, don’t be so _gauche_.” her mother said, putting on a show in front of the attorney. cheryl knew just as well as penelope herself that all penelope cared about was money. 

 

“per clifford’s instructions, he requested that i withhold all information, including the names of his numerous beneficiaries, until a public will reading.” this left both blossom women stunned, “how’s tomorrow afternoon?”

 

before either blossom could even reply, mr lazenby was packing up his papers and leaving thistlehouse. 

 

“don’t breath a word about this to anyone. just go to school cheryl. you wouldn’t want to be late now, would you?” penelope said before leaving the room and leaving cheryl to think. 

 

\----------------------

 

cheryl kept thinking about the news the attorney had given her. a  _public_ will reading ? her father was dead and yet still making everything about himself. 

 

she didn’t know how she was going to get through it alone. she thought that maybe her cousin betty would be there, but cheryl didn’t particularly want to share her feelings about any of this with her. 

 

maybe she could ask someone to be there with her. her mother did say not to tell anyone but she couldn’t care less about her mother right now. veronica? seeing as it was clifford himself who put hiram lodge in prison, she didn’t think that was a good idea. josie? the girl may be her best friend but ever since the whole pigs heart thing, cheryl had been keeping her distance, much to josie’s confusion. who else was there?...toni?

 

toni was the only person who had actively listened to cheryl in recent times. sure, she would feel weird asking this girl who she had only began having civil conversations with a few days ago to come to her murdering fathers will reading. hell, it would definitely feel weird for toni, since it was clifford’s fault that the serpent king was in prison for all that time. 

 

but as far as cheryl could tell, toni  _cared_ . and that outweighed every doubt she had about if she should ask her. so ask her she would.

 

\----------------------

 

when toni walked into school that monday morning, she was greeted by cheryl blossom waiting at her locker, seemingly lost in thought. 

 

“hey there bombshell.” she called out when she was just a few steps away. this snapped cheryl back into reality. 

 

“hey,” cheryl replied with a slight smile. “i need to ask you something.” she said once toni had got her books out of her locker. 

 

“sure, go for it.” toni replied, looking up at the redhead as they began walking to class.

 

“i wasn’t supposed to tell anyone this because it’s hush-hush but you don’t count.” toni wasn’t sure what cheryl meant by this, but didn’t comment on it. “my murdering father’s will is being read and i’m certain to inherit a sizeable nest egg. wanna come and witness my phoenix-like rise from the depths of poverty?” it took toni a few seconds to actually all this information in, and even longer to realise cheryl had asked a question. 

 

“hell yeah. i’m in.” toni was saying before she had even thought about what going to clifford blossom’s will reading would entail. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and our second deleted scene of the series has been written.   
> thanks for reading!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yep hi this chapter is small i’m sorry i’ll try to make it longer next time   
> hopefully the next chapter will be up soon cos i’m off school the rest of the week so i have slightly more time than usual  
> in other news, my username has changed, figured it made more sense, and i’ve made a new twitter to go with it (@cheryltcpaz) so come follow me and say hi please i want friends   
> anyways enjoy the chapter!

cheryl decided that the only way to stop her anxiety about the will reading was to distract herself, and with toni there, that would be easier than expected. 

 

she dived into her walk-in closet trying to find something for toni to wear which was both appropriate for the occasion and on the smaller side because let’s face, toni is a considerable amount shorter than her. she had just the thing in mind.

 

toni, however, was confused as to why it was happening. 

 

“cheryl, i agreed to come to this will reading but i didn’t agree to a makeover,” cheryl at long last finds what she was looking for and shows it to toni with a tight-lipped smile on her face, already knowing how the smaller girl was going to respond, “unless it involves that blouse.”

 

cheryl walked over to the maple red ottoman that resides at the end of her matching bed where toni was beginning to stand, looking at the impressive piece of clothing. “nice, right? for the record,  _ j’adore  _ your flannel-mesh aesthetic. i’m merely...augmenting it for the occasion.” she flickers her eyes between the blouse and toni’s own, trying to gauge a reaction, before her door is abruptly opened without warning, her mother waltzing in with it. 

 

“what is going on in here, cheryl?” the way her mother was staring at her made her scared to answer. thankfully, toni was quick to come up with a response. 

 

“mrs blossom, hi. i’m toni topaz. i’m a friend of cheryl’s from school and she’s lending me an outfit for the will reading.” she explains cooly while cheryl lamely holds up the top on its coat-hanger. 

 

“and why on earth would  _ you  _ be there?” penelope strikes a sickening gaze over to toni, the first time she’s laid her eyes on the girl since walking into the room. cheryl feels herself reboot at those words and tone. she may be used to being addressed like this, but she’s sure as hell not going to let it happen to toni. 

 

“i invited her, to be my emotional support.” her mother’s eyes don’t leave toni whole cheryl speaks, just narrow until she eventually looks back over to her daughter. 

 

“just make sure you’re downstairs before the guests start to arrive. we need to present a united front against those  _scavengers_. ” after another pointed look at toni, the elder blossom turns and exits the room, leaving the door open this time. 

 

it isn’t until the sound of heels against wood makes its way down the corridor that toni speaks again. “ugh, she’s a nightmare.”

 

cheryl doesn’t think she’s heard anything more honest than that in a long while. “isn’t she though?” she agrees before sitting down onto the ottoman behind her with a heavy sigh. 

 

“hey,” toni starts before taking a seat next to the other girl, “are you okay?”

 

there’s those three words again, the ones that never fail to shock cheryl whenever they’re spoken to her. “yeah, i’m used to it by now.” she looks down at her hands that have started to fiddle with each other, a habit that has built up from years of nervousness. 

 

“cheryl,” toni takes cheryl’s hands into her own, making the taller girl look up at her, “you remember what i said at pop’s, right? your mother is wrong, in everything she says or does, okay? you can’t forget that.” the gentleness of toni’s hands and voice make cheryl smile: it’s something she has missed so dearly. 

 

“i won’t toni, i promise...” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is boring but thanks for the reading lads <3


End file.
